Filing card



Sept. 21,1926. 1,600,582

C. E ELLIS FILING CARD Filed August 12. 1925 FIERMONT N-Y l min,

Z I ams %s ATTORNEY- 'Patented Sept. 21, 1926.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE). I

CHARLES EDWARD Firms, BROOKLYN, NEW Yonmri'ssreNoR T o RAPID ADDRESS- ING MACHINE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

vIllILZlTNG'r CARD.

Application filed August 12,1925. Serial N o. 4 9, 683.

Vhile my invention relates to filing cards generally it is particularly designed for use on address bearing stencil cards which are employed as a part of printing apparatus for addressing envelopes and other matter when not filedaway in their trays or' other filing receptacles; g

Briefly stated, the invention "consists in providing such filing cards with a depressed panel area along a portion of their faces at their upper edges, whereby much greater facilities for, and convenience in, handling and indexing suchv cards iii-their filing cases. and othervadvantages are secured. H

The best form -of apparatus at present known tomeembodying my invention and certain modifications thereof are illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawings in w Fig. -1 isa perspective face view-of a stencil card embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a face view of the upper portion of the card shown in 3 with movable index clips attached. 7 Fig; 3 is a crosss'ection on line 33 of Fig. 2 through a series of cards as same wouldbeplaced in a filing tray or drawer. V Fig-411s a detail view ofthe upper portion of a similar card having index notches and a modified form of index clip mounted thereon, and 7 -Fig.- 5 is a cross-section on line 5:5 of g- Throughout the drawings like reference characters indicate like parts.

. 1 is a pasteboard frame of a standard form of stencil card for use in. addressing machines having a cutaway portion across which a sheet of paper 2, forming the stencil section, is-pasted. 3 is a depressed-panel area along the upper edge of said cardfraine 1, preferably not extending lengthwise to the end of thecard, but leaving the end portions of the frame l and l ofnormal thickness. These panels canbe conveniently formed by stamping the cardboard to a greater density and less thickness over the predetermined area. That is .to say, the the panel areaf3 is formed by making .that portion of the card frame thinner than the adjacent portionsof said frame; fl, 4 represent index notches of predetermined'location along the upper edge ofthe card, which may be used if desired, and 5,.5, represent bifurcated clipsu sually formed of thin metal adapted to rest on and straddle the thin ner portion of the upper edge of, the card which results from the formation of the panel 3, of depressed area, as above described. To realize the more important featureso-f the invention these clips 5 should be formed of a material having athickness not greater than thedeptli of thedepression of the panel '3'. Usually the thickness of the clip material is made equal to the depth of said depression. In any casethe thickness of each leg of the clip preferably should not exceed the difference in thickness between the general card frame 1 and the panel portion 3 thereof. Thus if the cardframe I. is .07 inchthick, and the panel portion 3 is .04 inch thick, the metal cutoff which the clips 5 are madepreferably shouldnot be over .03 inch thick. As a result, one leg of the clip nests'in the depression formed by the panel in the card on which it is mounted and the other leg in the corresponding depression in the next card back of that on which it-is mounted when a series of cards are collected in a tray, (the clips on adjacent cards. being, of course, arranged in staggered relation one to another), said depressed panel areas forming spaces :7, 7, be-

tween a'djacentcards, as shown in Fig. 3, or'arestacked in a magazine.v As the re sult of this, these clips can be mounted on such of thecards as may be necessary to carry out the indexing system without in any way interfering with the cards lying snugly one against another in perfectlparalleli'smas shown in Figs. 2 and .3, where 5, 5 5 5 and 5 represent a plurality of clips, one mounted on eachof a series of cards assembled for deposit in a tray, notshown.

The modified form ofclip .5, shown in Figs; 2 and3 has an upward extension to render it more easily visible.

If index notches 4t, 4,. are used, the clips 5 shouldpreferably be made of a width sufficient to bridge said notches and in such casesaid clips maybe used as a means for covering some or all of the index notches, thereby modifying their indexing functions and, adding to the flexibility andcomprehensiveness of any given indexing system.

-The index clips5 may, of course, be g ven different colors to form :the necessary indexing distinctions and printed index matter may appear on the faces of the cards near their upper edges where it will be visible on slightly separating the same. In fact nearly all existing indexing devices may be used in combination with myinvention and their operation facilitated and further improved by it.

Among the advantages of the inventlon may be mentioned the following: Independently of any indexing feature the depressed panel areas are advantageous inthe case of filing cards because the creation of the spaces 7, 7, shown in Fig. 3 between successive cards tends to break the slight vacuum which exists between theadjacent faces of every two cards if perfectly flat, and enables the user to more easily separate the individual members of a set of these cards laid closely together in a file tray. The same space adds somewhat to the visibility of any printed index matter 8 when the same is placed in the depressed panel area. When index clips are used, the thicker end portions 1' and 1 of the cards act as stops limiting the sliding motion of the clips and (in the case of address bearing stencil cards) prevent the clips getting near enough to the end of the cards to stick in the guides of the addressing machine. WVhen the depressed panel areas are formed by stamping, as above described, this tends to force more closely to gether the layers forming the cardboard and 'the'liability of splitting the card when endeavoring to apply the metal clip is correspondingly reduced and the application of such clips generally facllitated. The invention also permits the application of the index clips to stencil cards which are to be used in addressing machines because it permits a tall stack of such cards to all lie in horizontal planes in the vertical card magazine. Heretofore, it has not been practical to use metal clips on such stencil cards because such clips, being all located along the edges on one side of the cards, produce a cumulative thickening action at that edge which prevented the cards lying properly in the magazine. The depressed panel section,

by diminishing the adhesion of one card to another, also facilitates the pulling out'of the bottom card of the stack in such a magazine by the card feeding mechanism which delivers the cards successively to the inking mechanism in an addressing machine. Also the presence of the depressed panel area tends to cause an operator picking up a series of such cards out of a filing tray to grasp any given bunch of cards, which he desires to remove, at'a point well down toward the center and thereby secure a firm grip instead of grasping them along the upper edges with the consequent possibility of the interior cards of the bunch dropping out because they are insecurely held.

Various changes could be made in the details of construction above described as embodying the preferred form of my invener ed e and a de ressed anel area alon b b the upper portion of its face, extending inwardly from said upper edge and end portions of normal thickness limiting the later al extension of said panel area.

3. The combination of a filing card having a depressed panel area along the medial portion of the upper edge of its face, the ends of said edge portion being the full thickness of the card and a U-shaped index clip mounted on and straddling the thinner edge portion so formed on the card, whereby said end portions serve as stops to prevent sliding said clip beyond said depressed panel area.

l. The'combination of a filing card having a depressed panel area along the upper edge of its face and a bifurcated index clip mounted on and straddling the thinner edge portion so formed on the card, each le of said clip having a thickness not excee in the depth of the depression forming sai panel area, whereby, when a series of such cards provided with such clips are stacked together, the legs of said clips may rest in the free spaces formed by said depressed panel areas.

- 5. The combination of a filing card having a depressed panel area along the medial portion of the upper edge of its face, the ends of said edge portions being of the full thickness of the card and a' U- shaped metal index clip mounted on and straddling the thinner edge portion so formed on the card, each leg of said clip having a thickness not exceeding the depth of the depression forming said panel area, whereby, when a series of such cards provided with such clips are stackedtogether, the legs of said clips may rest in the free spaces formed by said depressedpanel areas, but are limited in their movements by the thicker end portions of the card edges.

6. The combination, with a filing card having a depressed panel area along its upper edge and index notches cut in said edge, of a bifurcated clip of a width sufficient to bridge said notch mounted on and straddling said upper edge, said clip being formed of sheet metal of a thickness sub-, stantially equal to the depth of the depression forming said panel, whereby, when a series of such cards provided with such clips are stacked together, the le s of said clips may rest in the free spaces ormed by said depressed panel areas.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a filing card of substantially rectangular cross section of substantially uniform thickness along all its edges except-throughout a portion of its upper edge, along which portion the card has a panel composed of a less thickness of material than the remainder of the card edges, said panel extending inward from said edge a substantial distance; whereby a removable index clip may be conveniently mounted upon said portion of re duced thickness.

CHARLES EDWARD ELLIS. 

